Teaching Digital Natives

Did you know that the average college student spends 8 to 10 hours per day on a mobile phone? Whether texting, using social media applications, or browsing the internet, we can all agree that students are more connected than ever. But what does this mean for our teaching?

Since these trends aren’t likely to reverse anytime soon, it may be necessary to embrace the change and adapt our teaching accordingly.

Here are some things that you can do to take advantage of the amount of time your students spend on their phones:

Communicate with your students via text using mobile apps such as Celly or Remind.

Create flipped video lectures for students to review on their own time.

Create a class hashtag for Twitter to allow students to communicate and ask questions during or outside of class. Click here for ideas and tips.

Have students complete assignments using familiar social media, such as Vine. Click here for a few assignment ideas.

Deliver lectures through a presentation creation tool like Nearpod. Students can view the presentation and interact with content using their mobile devices.

These are just a few ideas, and there’s always room for more creativity. If you’d like to discuss other ways to connect with your students, contact your Instructional Technologist.